Emergencies don’t wait for paperwork. These guides explain, in plain English, which legal forms protect you and the people you love at each stage of life: what each document does, who should sign it, and how it differs from the forms that sound like it.
Pick the hub that fits where your family is today. Each one starts with an overview and links to detailed guides on the individual documents.
Legal Documents to Sign When Your Child Turns 18
At 18, parents lose automatic access to medical, school and financial information. Here are the documents every young adult should sign, and why.
- HIPAA Release Form: What It Is and Who Needs OneA HIPAA release form lets doctors share your medical information with people you choose. Learn what it must include, who needs one, and how it differs from a POA.
- FERPA Release Form: How Parents Can Access College RecordsColleges can't share grades or billing with parents without consent. Learn how a FERPA release form works, what it covers, and the exceptions schools use.
- Power of Attorney for a College Student: A Parent’s GuideWhy college students need a financial and health care power of attorney, what each one covers, how they're signed, and how to choose an agent.
- HIPAA Release vs. Health Care Power of AttorneyA HIPAA release gives access to medical information; a health care power of attorney gives authority to make decisions. Here's how they differ and why you need both.
Legal Documents Every Parent of a Minor Child Needs
The legal forms that protect your kids if you're traveling, unreachable or unable to care for them: consent forms, temporary guardianship, wills and more.
- Child Travel Consent Form: When Your Child Needs OneWhen a child travels with one parent, grandparents or a group, a travel consent form shows permission. Learn when it's needed, what to include and whether to notarize.
- Temporary Guardianship Form: How to Leave Your Child in Someone’s CareA temporary guardianship form lets a trusted adult care for your child while you're away. Learn how it works, how long it lasts, and how it differs from custody.
- Medical Consent Form for a Minor: For Grandparents, Sitters and CaregiversA medical consent form lets grandparents, babysitters and other caregivers approve treatment for your child when you can't be reached. Here's what to include.
- Estate Planning for Young Families and New ParentsNew parents need more than a crib. Learn how to name a guardian, protect what you leave your kids, and plan for your own emergencies in five simple steps.
Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples: How to Protect Each Other
Unmarried partners have few automatic legal rights. Learn which documents let you make medical decisions, share information and inherit from each other.
- Cohabitation Agreement: What It Covers and Why Couples Sign OneA cohabitation agreement sets out how unmarried partners share property, expenses and debts, and what happens if they split up. Here's what to include.
- Domestic Partnership vs. Marriage: What’s the Difference?Domestic partnership and marriage give couples very different legal rights. Compare inheritance, taxes, benefits and medical decisions, and learn what an agreement adds.
- Primary vs. Contingent Beneficiary: How to Name Them RightA primary beneficiary inherits first; a contingent beneficiary inherits if the primary can't. Learn how they work, common mistakes, and how beneficiaries interact with your will.
- Can an Unmarried Partner Make Medical Decisions for You?In many states an unmarried partner isn't next of kin for medical decisions. Learn how a health care power of attorney and HIPAA release give your partner a voice.
Estate Planning Checklist: The Documents Everyone Needs
A plain-English estate planning checklist: the will, living will, powers of attorney and other documents everyone needs, plus what to organize and when to update.
- What Is a Living Will? How It Works and What to IncludeA living will records your wishes about life-sustaining treatment if you can't speak for yourself. Learn what it covers, when it applies and how it differs from a will.
- Living Will vs. Advance Directive: What’s the Difference?An advance directive is the umbrella term; a living will is one type. Learn how living wills, health care powers of attorney and advance directives fit together.
- Will vs. Trust: Which Do You Need?Compare a will and a revocable living trust on probate, privacy, cost and control. Learn when a will is enough and when a trust makes sense.
- What Happens If You Die Without a Will?If you die without a will, state intestacy law decides who inherits, who manages your estate and who raises your kids. Here's what typically happens.
- Funeral Planning Checklist: How to Plan AheadA step-by-step funeral planning checklist: burial or cremation, the service, costs, paperwork and how to make sure your family can find your wishes in time.
- How to Avoid Probate: 6 Common StrategiesProbate can be slow, public and costly. Learn six common ways to pass assets directly to your heirs, from beneficiary designations to a living trust.
- How to Choose an Executor for Your Will (and What They Do)Your executor carries out your will. Learn what an executor does, who makes a good choice, and the mistakes to avoid when naming one.
- Pet Trust: How to Provide for Your Pets After You’re GonePets can't inherit money, but a pet trust can fund their care. Learn how pet trusts work, how they compare with a will, and how to choose a caregiver.
Power of Attorney Explained: Types and How to Get One
A plain-English guide to power of attorney: the types (financial, medical, durable, springing), how to choose an agent, and how to sign one correctly.
- Medical Power of Attorney: What It Is and How It WorksA medical power of attorney names someone to make health care decisions if you can't. Learn what your agent can do, when it takes effect and how to choose the right person.
- Durable vs. Springing Power of Attorney: Which Should You Choose?A durable POA lasts through incapacity; a springing POA starts only at incapacity; a regular POA ends at incapacity. Compare the three and learn which most people choose.
- Power of Attorney for an Elderly Parent: A Step-by-Step GuideHow to get power of attorney for an aging parent: the documents to sign, capacity concerns, bank and Social Security quirks, and what to do if it's too late.
- How to Revoke a Power of AttorneyYou can revoke a power of attorney anytime while you're competent. Learn the steps: written revocation, notifying your agent and third parties, and replacing the document.